LIFE as a Greene King IPA Championship club will begin with a bang for Warriors after they were handed an opening-day trip to title rivals Bristol.

Dean Ryan’s men will kick off their second tier campaign at Ashton Gate, the new home of Andy Robinson’s big-spenders, who were pipped to promotion to the Aviva Premiership last month by London Welsh.

The opening clash in the first weekend of September will be Bristol’s first competitive game at the stadium since it became the club’s permanent home this summer.

The two former Premiership clubs will then meet again at Sixways for the final clash of the regular season on Saturday, April 25 as both sides set their sights on a play-off place.

Warriors get their Sixways season underway on the weekend beginning September 12 with a West Midlands derby against Moseley.

A visit to newly-promoted Doncaster Knights follows, before clashes with Nottingham and last season’s play-off semi-finalists Rotherham Titans in the first five weeks of the season.

Warriors will sandwich a November visit to Plymouth Albion between home clashes with Bedford Blues and Jersey.

London Scottish will welcome Worcester to the Athletic Ground five days prior to Christmas, before Leeds Carnegie play the role of hosts for the first clash of 2015.

An action-packed January sees Warriors face Cornish Pirates and Doncaster at home, with a trip to Moseley also on the cards.

February clashes with Nottingham, Rotherham and Bedford follow, before Warriors turn their attention to Plymouth and a trip to Jersey in March.

The end-of-season run-in sees the Sixways side battle with London Scottish, Leeds and Cornish Pirates, before the visit of Bristol.

If Warriors secure a play-off place, the semi-finals will begin on the weekend beginning May 8 with the second leg the following weekend.

The first and second legs of the Championship final are scheduled for the weeks commencing May 11 and May 18 respectively.

Warriors’ interim chief executive Anthony Glossop said: “The fixture list has handed us some exciting challenges at key times throughout the season, not least our matches with Bristol, who share our ambition of winning promotion next season.

“With our first home match of the season throwing up a West Midlands derby, we will be welcoming supporters, new and old, from right across the region to Sixways.

“The Greene King IPA Championship is a competitive league and we are all looking forward to a big season ahead.”

Greene King IPA Championship Fixture List (All matches will be played the weekend of and are subject to change): September 5/6/7 2014: Bristol Rugby vs Warriors September 12/13/14 2014: Warriors vs Moseley September 19/20/21 2014: Doncaster Knights vs Warriors September 26/27/28 2014: Warriors vs Nottingham Rugby October 3/4/5 2014: Rotherham Titans vs Warriors Sunday 2 November – Championship XV vs Canada November 7/8/9 2014: Warriors vs Bedford Blues November 14/15/16 2014: Plymouth Albion vs Warriors November 21/22/23 2014: Warriors vs Jersey December 19/20/21 2014: London Scottish vs Warriors January 2/3/4 2015: Leeds Carnegie vs Warriors January 9/10/11 2015: Warriors vs Cornish Pirates January 16/17/18 2015: Moseley vs Warriors January/February 30/31/1 2015: Warriors vs Doncaster Knights February 6/7/8 2015: Nottingham Rugby vs Warriors February 13/14/15 2015: Warriors vs Rotherham Titans February 20/21/22 2015: Bedford Blues vs Warriors March 6/7/8 2015: Warriors vs Plymouth Albion March 20/21/22 2015: Jersey vs Warriors March 27/28/29 2015: Warriors vs London Scottish April 10/11/12 2015: Warriors vs Leeds Carnegie April 17/18/19 2015: Cornish Pirates vs Warriors Saturday 25 April 2015: Warriors vs Bristol Rugby May 1/2/3 2015: Greene King Championship semi-final first leg May 8/9/10 2015: Greene King Championship semi-final second leg W/C May 11 2015: Greene King Championship final first leg W/C May 18 2015: Greene King Championship final second leg